How much has money contributed to your happiness? – Dusty Reagan

In December I asked my Linkedin friends a question. It was a time when I really needed to hear inspiring words. I needed to feel comfortable with my decisions. I received so many great responses (35 total), I want to share them with you. I’m going to start throwing them out here – assuming I get permission from the respondents.

One of the first to reply was my good buddy (and perhaps yours too) Dusty Reagan. …Let’s begin:

My question

How much has money contributed to your happiness?

I’m curious because, as a soon-to-be college graduate turning full time entrepreneur, I feel like I have several options. Do I go for the money now so I can follow my passions later. Do I follow passion now and hope that money follows. Is money even going to make me happy…

I’ve heard two things: “Money does not make happiness” and “Money is not happiness, but money is freedom and freedom is happiness.” ??

Dusty

Personally, I consider capitalism like a video game. There are a set of rules you must play the game by, there are weaknesses in the system you can exploit, and you generally have to practice to beat the difficult parts.

For me money doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness, but (like collecting wood, gold, and ore in an RTS) it’s a resources I must have to sustain and grow my venture. If I have an abundance of resources to grow my venture, I coincidentally, find myself happy. 🙂

You should always follow your dreams. That will make you happy. It won’t necessarily make you money though. And you usually need money to follow your dreams. This conundrum is the game we’re all playing. But, as long as you have enough money to feed yourself, your family, and your business, you can keep playing the game. If you run out of cash you’ll be forced to find a new racket.

The long and short of my advice is you *must* have cash flow. How you obtain it is part of the game. One other piece of advice, there’s never a “good-time” to set out on your own venture. It will always be risky, it will always be hard, and there will always be nay-sayers in your life. You just have to do it.

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I encourage you to ask questions on Linkedin. I promise you will get some great answerers. Ones that resonate with you, like Dusty’s did for me. Thanks dooder!